Donald Trump’s recent tweet about land reform in South Africa were based on misinformation and fear-mongering, the tweet drew sharp criticism from almost every single corner in the country with ordinary South Africans, farmers and politicians being united in their admonishment of Trump.

Trump waded into the touch land reform debate in his typically bigoted and ill-informed manner and managed to inflame (not for the first time) an entire country. Yet South Africans should actually be thanking the American president.

Trump has managed something of a miracle. His tweet not only galvanised the general population of the country but critically for the first time in what seems forever the leaders of all the major political parties actually agree on something and have put up a united front.

Briefly.co.za gathered that President Cyril Ramaphosa acting in his capacity as leader of the government and the African National Congress (ANC) quickly stepped-up and assured potential investors that South Africa would not turn into another Zimbabwe.

Ramaphosa assured investors, most notably British Prime Minister Teresa May, that there would be no land seizures in the country. IOL.co.za reported that Ramaphosa said (as he often has in the past) that land reforms and expropriation would be handled delicately.

Ramaphosa said he intended to bring the same delicacy to land reform which Nelson Mandela had shown in the final dismantlement of the apartheid government.

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane, a staunch opponent of amending the Constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation, warned that international leaders stoking the flames of fear added no value to the debate in the country.

Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader Julius Malema was predictably less diplomatic and called on Trump to butt-out of local affairs. Malema bluntly told Trump that he should stay out of the debate because he had caused enough issues for Africa.

Even farmers united and said Trump should leave South Africa to South Africans and rather focus his attention on the mounting problems he faces at home.

This all means Trump managed to unite the country, its people and critically our leaders in a way which hasn’t been seen since the days of Nelson Mandela, but please don’t tell Trump he has done a good job, his ego is big enough already.